Mail-marking machine.



G. H. BARBOUR.

MAIL MARKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

1,083,581. Patented Jan.6, 1914.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0. WASHINGTON. D. c.

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r s'rars prion GEORGE HENRY BARBOUR, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORTO THE AMERICAN POSTAL MACHINES COIVIPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ACORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

MAIL-MARKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 6, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE E. BARBoUR, acitizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mail-Marking Machines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The invention relates to stamp canceling and post marking machines inwhich the relative movements between the die and impression rollsrequisite for effecting the proper marking of the letters is controlledby the letters.

' The invention is intended primarily as an improvement in the machineshown and described in Patents No. 948,712, February 8, 1910, and No.950,521, March 1, 1910, although the invention is notlimited in itsapplication to the machine illustrated in these patents.

The object of the invention is to improve and simplify the devices forsupporting and controlling the movements of the impression roll tosecure the proper operation of the marking die on the letters, and toprevent the engagement of the roll with the marking die when no letteris passing; to improve the construction and arrangement of thefrictionally held feed pads by which the letters are advanced to themarking roll; and to provide an improved construction and arrangement ofthe pressure or gripping pads which cooperate with the clamping foot onthe marking roll in carrying the.

letters past the timing stop and into position to be gripped between theimpression roll and marking roll.

lVith these objects in view, the invention consists in the features ofconstruction and combinations of parts hereinafter described andreferred to in the claims, the advantages of which will be obvious tothose skilled in the art.

The various features of the invention will be readily understood from aninspection of the accompanying drawings, and the following detaileddescription of the construction illustrated therein.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of so much of .a mail markingmachine as is necessary to show the application of the presentimprovements thereto; Fig. 2 is a part al detail elevation of the leversfor supporting and operating the impression roll; Fig. 8 is a detailelevation showing one of the feeding pads and one of the pressure orclamping pads carried by the feed wheel; and Fig. 4 is a verticalsectional view on line it- 1, Fig. 3.

In the machine shown in the drawings the letters are supported upon edgeon a horizontal base plate or table 1, the front of the pack being heldby the operator against a front plate 2, and against the periphery ofthe feed wheel 3, the rim of which projects through the plate 2. Theindividual letters are separated from the face of the letter pack andcarried forward against the timing stops 4: by frictional feed pads 5which project from the periphery of the feed wheel 3. The feed pads arein the form of rolls mounted in circumferentially extending slots 6formed in the rim of the wheel 3, the

rolls being so mounted that they project somewhat beyond the peripheryof the feed wheel. In order that the feed rolls may pass off of theletters without injuring them after the advance of the letters has beenarrested by the timing stops the rolls should be frictionally held fromrotation in the feed wheel in such manner that they may roll along thesurface of the letter after the letter is arrested. In accordance withone feature of the present invention the feed rolls are thus held by theresiliency of the rubber or other elastic frictional material from whichthe roll is formed. As shown the rolls comprise a central metallic coreor hub 7 surrounded by a body of rubber 8. The rolls are mounted to turnupon pins 9 which pass freely through the rim of the wheelS and the hubsof the rolls. The rolls are of such thickness that they are slightlycompressed between the walls of the slots 6. The opposite faces of therolls are thus held in continual frictional engagement with the walls ofthe slots so that the rolls are held from rotation until the resistanceto their bodily advance is sufficient to overcome the friction betweenthe faces of the rolls and the walls of the slots. The roll may be soconstructed that the rubber body 8 engages the walls of the slot in thewheel 3, but it 1s preferred to provide the hub 7 with a flange 10 forengaging one wall of the slot, and to insert a washer 11 between thebody 8 and the other wall of the slot. With this construction the faceof the roll does not wear away so quickly, and a more uniform frictionalhold upon the roll is secured. The rolls may be readily removed andreplaced when they become worn by withdrawing the pin 9 and inserting anew roll, no skill or care on the part of the operator being required inremoving and changing the rolls.

The printing devices to which the inclividual letters are presentedcomprise a marking roll 12 and an impression roll 13. The marking rollis continuously rotated, and when a letter is arrested by the timingstops 4 it remains in position with its front end against the stopsuntil it is acted upon by the clamping foot 14: carried by the markingroll. The clamping foot is arranged to press the letter against theperiphery of the feed wheel 3 and carry it forward past the timing stopand between the marking die and impression roll in proper time to beacted upon by the marking die. In order that the letter may be firmlygripped between the clamping foot and feed wheel, the feed wheel isprovided with pressure or clamping pads 15 for cooperating with theclamping foot. In the construction shown these pressure pads arearranged directly to the rear of the feed rolls 5. This arrangement ofthe pads and feed rolls insures the proper feeding of the front end ofthe letter against the timing stops before the clamping foot andpressure pads come into position to grip and carry forward the letter.The pressure pads may be of any suitable frictional material, and arepreferably in the form of rubber or rubber faced blocks held in groovesformed in the periphery of the feed wheel. As shown, the pressure padsare in the form of blocksheld in undercut grooves 16 which extendrearwardly from the slots 6. This construction enables the blocks to bereadily inserted in the periphery of the wheel and to be readily andconveniently renewed when they become worn.

In order that the dies on the marking roll may not engage the impressionroll and ap ply ink thereto, in case there is no letter in position tobe fed between the marking and impression rolls when the marking die isbrought to the printing point, the impression roll is mounted in ahorizontal lever 17 which is moved toward and away from the marking rollduring each rotation, and a stop 18 is provided for arresting theforward movement of the lever in case no letter is in position to be fedto the marking die. The stop 18 is secured to a rock shaft 19 whichcarries an arm 20 projecting into position at one side of the letterwhen the letter is against the timing stops. The stop 18 is heldnormally in front of an adjustable stop screw 21 on the lever 17 by aspring 22. When the stop is in this position it prevents the advance ofthe impression roll into position to engage the marking die, and therollis therefore held away from the die so long as no letter is fed betweenthe marking and impression rolls. In case there is a letter against thetiming stops when the clamping foot 11 comes into position to engage oneof the pressure pads 15, the letter is carried laterally by the clampingfoot against the arm 20, thus swinging the arm in a direction to movethe stop 18'out of the path of the stop screw 21 on the impression rolllever. Now when the impression roll lever is moved forward its advanceis not arrested by the stop, and therefore the impression roll isbrought into position to press the letter against the marking die. Afterthe dies have passed the printing point the impression roll lever ismoved back and the stop 18 and arm 20 are returned to normal position.

The construction and arrangement of the devices for advancing andretracting the impression roll and for forcing it against the letterwith a yielding pressure, so that it may accommodate itself to varyingthicknesses of mail matter, constitute further features of the presentinvention, and are as follows. The impression roll lever 17 is mountedto turn freely upon a vertical pivot stud 23 which extends upward fromthe base plate 1 and the lever is forced yieldingly in a direction toadvance the impression roll by a comparatively heavy spring 24;. Thisspring forces the roll forward with sufficient force to secure therequisite printing pressure, and will yield to accommodate varyingthicknesses of letters. The impression roll lever is retracted againstthe tension of the spring 24 by a lever 25 also mounted to turn freelyabout the pivot stud 23. The lever 17 is provided with a verticallyextending lug 26 arranged to be en gaged by an adjustable screw 27mounted in a lug 28 on the lever 25. The lug 26 and screw 27 formcooperating shoulders on the levers through which the impression rolllever is retracted, the shoulders being so arranged that the impressionroll is free to move rearwardly, except so far as it is restrained bythe spring 24. The lever 25 is actuated to retract the impression rolllever by a cam 29 secured to the shaft of the feed wheel 3, and arrangedto engage a roll 30-carried by the lever. The roll 30 is held inengagement with the cam by a spring 31.

In the construction shown the feed wheel is provided with two feed rolls5, and makes one revolution to two revolutions of the marking roll. Thecam 29 is therefore shaped to retract the impression roll lever twiceduring each revolution of the feed wheel. The cam is also so shaped thatwhen the impressionroll lever is retracted the stop screw 21 isdisengaged from the stop 18,

leaving the stop free to be moved out of the path of the stop screw whenthe clamping foot engages the letter. The impression roll lever andactuating lever form a simple and efficient mechanism for controllingthe movement of the impression roll. The arrangement of these levers inthe manner shown and described also prevents rebound of the impressionroll in passing off of thick letters, since the sudden forward movementof the impression roll lever when the roll passes off the letter forcesthe actuating lever against the cam 29, instead of throwing it away fromthe cam. Thus rebounding of the impression roll, and the hammering ofthe actuating lever upon the actuating cam incident to such rebound areeliminated, so that the machine may be run at a high rate of speedwithout undue wear and without danger of imperfect action upon theletters.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction andarrangement of the parts shown and described, it will be understood thatthis construction and arrangement is not essential except so far as itis set forth in the claims, and may be varied and modified withoutdeparting from the broader scope of the invention.

,Having explained the nature and object of the invention, andspecifically described one form of machine in which it may be embodied,what I claim is 1. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, amarking roll, an impression roll, a lever carrying the impression rolland mounted to turn about a fixed axis, a spring for forcing the levertoward the marking roll, a letter controlled stop for arresting theadvance of the lever, an actuating lever mounted to turn about saidaxis, and a cam operating the actuating lever to move the impressionroll lever away from the marking roll, substantially as described.

2. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a marking roll, animpression roll, a lever carrying the impression roll, a spring forcingthe lever toward the marking roll, an actuating lever pivoted concentricwith and engaging the impression roll lever, a cam engaging theactuating lever to move the impression roll lever away from the markingroll, and a letter controlled stop for arresting the advance of theimpression roll lever, substantially as described.

3. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a marking roll, animpression roll, a horizontally arranged lever carrying the impressionroll, a spring for forcing the lever toward the marking roll, aconcentrically pivoted actuating lever, cooperating shoulders on theactuating and impression roll levers arranged to permit movement of theimpression roll lever away from the marking roll, and a cam engaging theactuating lever to move the impression roll lever away from the markingroll, substantially as described.

4t. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a feed wheelprovided with letter engaging feed pads, a cam on the feed Wheel shaft,an actuating lever engaging the cam, a concentrically pivoted impressionroll lever, shoulders on the levers through which the impression rolllever is retracted by the cam, a spring for forcing the impression rolllever toward the marking roll, and a letter controlled stop forarresting the advance of the impression roll lever, substantially asdescribed.

5. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a feed Wheel providedwith a plurality of letter engaging feed pads, a cam on the feed wheelshaft having swells corresponding to the feed pads, an actuating leverengaging the cam, an impression roll lever engaged by the actuatinglever, a spring for advancing the impression roll lever, and a lettercontrolled stop for arresting the advance of the impression roll lever,substantially as described.

6. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a feed wheel providedwith a circumferentially extending slot in its periphery, a feed r011mounted in the slot with its periphery extending beyond the periphery ofthe wheel, a groove extending rearwardly from the slot, and a clampingpad held in the groove, substantially as described.

7. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a feed wheel providedwith a circumferentially extending slot in its peripherv, a feed rollmounted in the slot with its periphery ext-ending beyond the periphcryof the wheel, an undercut groove extending rearwardly from the slot, anda clamping pad held in the groove, substantially as described.

8. A mail marking machine, having, in combination, a feed wheel providedwith friction feeding pads projecting from its periphery, a marking rollprovided with a clamping foot, and friction clamping pads arranged atthe rear of the feed pads and cooperating with. the clamping foot,substantially as described.

GEORGE HENRY BARBOUR.

Witnesses:

Nn'rTIn D. MOPI-IAIL, GEORGE E. STEBBINs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

